Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
All articles from the Temple Daily Telegram are published with the permission of the
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram
Temple Daily Telegram.
All credit for this article goes to
Jeanne Williams and the Temple Daily Telegram
Research and cemetery designation focus of Milam genealogy workshop
by Jeanne Williams
Temple Daily Telegram - July 11, 2010
ROCKDALE — The Milam County Genealogical Society is sponsoring a workshop Saturday, Aug.
28, on genealogy research and Texas Historic Cemetery designations.
The workshop, in the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library, 201 Ackerman St. in Rockdale,
will feature historian, researcher and published author, Lynna Kay Shuffield of Houston.
Cost of the 9 a.m.-3 p.m. workshop is $5 per person. Lunch is provided. To participate,
please contact Marie Hubert at mhubert @ swbell. net or telephone her at 512-455-3937 to
RSVP.
The library provides free Wi-Fi so participants may bring their laptops and work along
with the instructor.
First-time researchers tend to be disorganized “and do not know where to go or what to
do,” Suffield said. “The main problem folks who are just starting out encounter is not
documenting where they got the information.”
She will be teaching participants how to use RootsMagic software to organize research,
source and document it. The afternoon session will be about applying for the Historic
Texas Cemetery Designation from the Texas Historical Commission through the county
historical commission, and will show participants how to complete the application form,
and explain which maps and documentation are needed. Additional information may be found
at
“Any cemetery with a burial before 1960 can apply for a Historic Texas Cemetery
Designation,” Shuffield said. “The class also explains the various provisions of Texas
Cemetery Law and why it is important to obtain this designation.”
One of the most difficult aspects of family history research has been finding time to
make out-of-town trips because not all material has been microfilmed or made available on
line, she said.
“The second most difficult thing I have experienced is when I debunk family lore
stories,” Shuffield said. “In some cases some folks do not want it known their
grandmother married four times, or that Great-Grandpa went to Huntsville for murder, or
Cousin John is not really ‘Cousin John’ as his father was not the father named on the
birth certificate.”
*****
Lynna Kay Shuffield bio:
Shuffield, a 1975 graduate of Sam Houston Senior High School, holds a bachelor’s degree
from the University of Houston and attended Rice University’s Navy ROTC program for four
years.
Shuffield has conducted genealogy research in most of the southern states, and has
written numerous articles in national, state and privately published genealogical and
local history periodicals. She has spoken to many genealogy and veteran’s groups across
Texas, and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs discussing various
topics related to Texas genealogy and military history.
Shuffield is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, United Daughters of
the Confederacy and Daughters of the Republic of Texas. She is a former major in the
State Military Forces of Texas, and a graduate of the USMC command and General Staff
College.
She has published several books on Texas genealogy and military history, and is working
on five books for publication by the end of the year. She specializes in 20th century
military history and records research.
.